US hands over ministry to Iraqis

Mr Bremer said Iraq was on the road to sovereignty

The US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer, has handed over the first of the country's 25 government ministries to the interim Iraqi leadership.

Mr Bremer told Health Minister Khidr Abbas: "You are in the driver's seat on the road to sovereignty."

Mr Bremer hailed the ministry's record since last year's US-led invasion, saying polio had been eradicated and spending on health care had risen.

Three more ministries are due to revert to Iraqi control by 1 April.

The handover of the health ministry at a ceremony in Baghdad came less than two weeks before the first anniversary of the end of Saddam Hussein's rule.

Dr Abbas called it an historic moment for the Iraqi people and a first step towards independence.